The Willows Care Home

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• Overview
• Person-centred Care
• Care provision, Integration and continuity
• Providing Information
• Listening to and involving people
• Equity in access
• Equity in experiences and outcomes
• Planning for the future

Responsive – this means we looked for evidence that the provider met people’s needs.

At our last assessment we rated this key question good. At this assessment the rating has

remained good: This meant people’s needs were met through good organisation and delivery.

This service scored 64 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

The provider did not always make sure people were at the centre of their care and treatment choices and they did not always work in partnership with people, to decide how to respond to any relevant changes in people’s needs. One person told us, “I don’t do much except when the activity lady comes and does one to one with me, maybe once or twice a week.” A relative said, “[Person] is bored. They need some 1-1.” Another person said, “There is something [to do] every day, but I like when we have singers, and I went to arts this morning.”

The provider understood the diverse health and care needs of people and their local

communities, so care was joined-up, flexible and supported choice and continuity. Staff worked

closely with health care professionals and records showed effective partnership working had

taken place during reviews of people’s care. Staff accurately recorded information and shared

with staff and relevant professionals such as the GP.

The provider did not always supply appropriate, accurate and up-to-date information in formats that were tailored to individual needs. For example, we were told visual cues and pictorial menus were used to support people with decision making in relation to their meals, we found this was not taking place at the start of our assessment, however the provider responded, and these were in place by our subsequent visit. Where English was not people’s first language, we found care plans to support with communication lacked guidance, there were no common phrases or prompts that would be helpful to understand and information had not been translated into other languages where this would have benefited people to have a greater understanding and enable them to be more involved in their care.

The provider made it easy for people to share feedback and ideas, or raise complaints about

their care, treatment and support. Staff involved people in decisions about their care and told

them what had changed as a result. For example, the provider carried out an annual survey for

people and their relatives to provide feedback, this was analysed, and changes were made

based on the feedback. People and relatives also told us they could give feedback on the spot

and this was acted on. Relatives told us, “I feel they would sort it out.” And “If I have a problem I

raise it in person, they always respond.”

The provider made sure that people could access the care, support and treatment they needed when they needed it. We found evidence people were supported with health appointments where required. The provider had arranged an in-house physiotherapist to further support people where their mobility had deteriorated.

Staff and leaders actively listened to information about people who are most likely to experience

inequality in experience or outcomes and tailored their care, support and treatment in response

to this. The provider actively engaged with people and their views, making changes where

required. For example, surveys were analysed and a response was provided to people setting

out themes of what people said, and what the provider was doing following the feedback.

People were not always supported to plan for important life changes, so they could have enough

time to make informed decisions about their future, including at the end of their life. For

example, care plans contained mixed information in relation to future planning. We saw some

had detailed plans to be followed as people reached the end of their life, where others were

limited or had not been completed.